Not long after tending to Long Xiaoyao's wounds, Di Tian arrived. There was no great commotion; he came alone, silently and without a sound.
"Here. Everything is inside."
As Di Tian spoke, he handed a Storage Soul Tool to Xu Tianchen. Xu Tianchen was somewhat surprised to see it; he had not expected them to use Soul Tools as well. Long Xiaoyao, standing nearby, also looked surprised upon seeing the Storage Soul Tool.
"I never thought soul beasts would use Soul Tools too!"
Di Tian gave Long Xiaoyao, who was leaning against a tree, a cold glance. His tone was indifferent, yet carried a trace of speechlessness.
"We are soul beasts, not wild beasts! You humans have left plenty of Soul Tools in the Land of Great Terror. It's not as if we don't know how to use them."
After snapping at Long Xiaoyao, he turned his gaze to Xu Tianchen, who had just put away the Storage Soul Tool. "Please take good care of her."
"I will. That is my promise!" Xu Tianchen said firmly, meeting Di Tian's eyes.
Bi Ji, within the scales, naturally heard Xu Tianchen's words. The redness that had only just faded from her ears flared up again.
What did that mean? Was it a promise to her maternal family in human society?
"Enough. It's just a dragon egg. We'll take good care of that little dragon hatchling."
Seeing the way the two were acting, Long Xiaoyao spoke up directly. In his view, they were merely raising a young dragon. Was there really any need for this? Anyone unaware of the situation might have thought Di Tian was playing some tragic second male lead.
Di Tian glanced at Long Xiaoyao without saying anything further. He turned and left, eventually disappearing into the towering forest. In his heart, his master's plan was still more important.
"Alright, Master, let's go too. We'll return to Shrek City to rest up first, then head back to Mingdu."
Xu Tianchen watched Di Tian's departing figure vanish, then helped Long Xiaoyao to his feet.
"This is bad. Earlier, I was afraid something might happen to you, so I had Snake Shadow send word back and ask Xishui and old Kong to come provide support. Now that this turned out to be a misunderstanding, I wonder whether they've already come."
Long Xiaoyao suddenly stamped his foot. He had only just remembered this.
"They probably haven't arrived yet. The distance is too great, though they shouldn't be too far off now. Let's hurry back and explain everything."
As soon as Xu Tianchen finished speaking, Long Xiaoyao took him and flew rapidly toward the Sun Moon Empire.
With the strength of an Ultimate Douluo, Long Xiaoyao flew at full speed without stopping, finally reaching Mingdu after more than a day.
"Judging by the time, even if Web relayed intelligence as quickly as possible, they should only have just arrived. I'll go intercept Xishui at the Evil Demon Forest. You stop old Kong."
Long Xiaoyao set Xu Tianchen down. This whole affair had truly exhausted him.
"Alright."
Xu Tianchen nodded as well. Long Xiaoyao then headed toward the Evil Demon Forest. Just as he reached the forest entrance, he saw Ye Xishui carrying the God of Death Tower, followed by Zhongli Wu, Feng Ling, and more than a dozen Title Douluo in a grand procession. From the look of it, they seemed ready to wipe out some faction.
Ye Xishui was also stunned when she saw Long Xiaoyao. She hurriedly looked at the Rank-8 Soul Engineer who had come to report the news.
"Xishui, it's fine now. It was all a misunderstanding." Long Xiaoyao spoke to Ye Xishui first, then addressed the people behind her. "It's fine now. All of you can go back."
"Xiaoyao, you need to explain this to me. Do you know I was scared out of my wits?"
Ye Xishui threw herself into Long Xiaoyao's arms. When she had heard that Long Xiaoyao had entered the Land of Great Terror alone, she had been terrified, afraid that he would never return.
"Come on. Let's go back, and I'll explain it slowly."
"Tianchen, is this the city you live in now? It's completely different from what I saw before."
Bi Ji's voice rang out in Xu Tianchen's mind. Through the scales, she saw Mingdu's towering buildings and crisscrossing roads. It was utterly different from the Three Original Douluo Kingdoms.
"Yes. The Sun Moon Empire's Soul Tool technology is more advanced, so it's entirely different from what you saw before. Wait until I finish handling this matter, and I'll take you around Mingdu. But since I'm the Purple Radiance King, a lot of people will be watching me, so it won't be easy for you to show yourself. Sorry to make you put up with that."
Xu Tianchen communicated mentally with Bi Ji through the scales.
"It's alright. Still, I never expected you to be a prince."
The two chatted idly like this as Xu Tianchen entered the imperial palace. Before he even entered the Consecration Hall, he heard a startled cry from the entrance.
"What did you say? Little Chen was captured by Di Tian in Star Dou? I'll take you to find Kong Lao right now."
Xu Tianchen recognized Ye Yulin's voice and hurried into the Consecration Hall in a few quick strides, shouting loudly as he did so.
"Wait, Grandpa Ye, wait!"
Ye Yulin and Shadow Ghost, having heard the shout, turned to look at Xu Tianchen. Ye Yulin looked from Xu Tianchen to Shadow Ghost.
"What exactly is going on?"
"Grandpa Ye, calm down first. This was all a misunderstanding. Let's go inside, and I'll explain it to you slowly."
As he spoke, Xu Tianchen led Ye Yulin into a room, explaining the matter of releasing them as they walked.
Fortunately, they had been fast enough. Otherwise, it would have been troublesome if they had disturbed Kong Deming's secluded cultivation.
After Ye Yulin finally understood that it had all been a misunderstanding, he let Xu Tianchen leave.
After this misunderstanding, Xu Tianchen realized something: the communication facilities on the Douluo Continent were far too primitive.
However, this matter had long been on the agenda. As early as two years ago, he had spoken with Xuan Ziwen, Kong Deming's last disciple. By now, Xuan Ziwen had already been won over by some of Xu Tianchen's modern ideas and knowledge.
Looks like I need to put more on Brother Xuan's shoulders.
After this misunderstanding came to an end, Xu Tianchen's life entered a peaceful period. Every day, he cultivated, developed his relationship with Bi Ji, took her around Mingdu, and bought her things that interested her.
He also checked on the dragon egg's hatching progress, kept an eye on any recent developments in the Sun Moon Empire or the Three Original Douluo Kingdoms, and followed the progress of his great-grandfather's secluded cultivation to see whether he had broken through to Rank 95.
Three months passed like this before an urgent secret report shattered the peace.
"Your Highness, this is a highest-priority urgent secret report from Heavenly Soul! Your subordinate has already translated it. Please review it and make a decision."
In the study of the Purple Radiance Prince's Manor, Shadow Ghost knelt on one knee and offered up a secret report bearing purple-gold dragon patterns with both hands.
This was the highest-grade secret report in Web, used only under three circumstances.
First, when Xu Tianchen was in trouble and needed support; second, when intelligence concerning the empire's stability was involved; third, when an incident related to gods occurred.
Xu Tianchen opened the secret report. When its contents appeared before him, surprise immediately filled his face after he finished reading it.
"I never expected that I would encounter something even Huo Yuhao had never encountered or entered."
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